Hal Ellson

'''Harold "Hal" Ellson''' (1910 – October 31, 1994 in Brooklyn)<ref name=Times>[https://www.nytimes.com/1994/11/09/obituaries/hal-ellson-novelist-84.html Hal Ellson; Novelist, 84], in ''the New York Times''; published November 9, 1994; retrieved July 2, 2014</ref> was an American author of pulp fiction whose work primarily focused on juvenile delinquency, a field in which he has been described as "one of the most popular" writers<ref name=Rotella>[https://books.google.com/books?id=N-cMlDS9pmwC&dq=%22hal+ellson%22+profile&pg=PA348 October Cities: The Redevelopment of Urban Literature], by Carlo Rotella (quoting Claude Brown); published April 21, 1998, by University of California Press (via Google Books)</ref><ref name=Medovoi>[https://books.google.com/books?id=BavnSUyJVSMC&dq=%22Hal+Ellson%22&pg=PA304 Rebels: Youth and the Cold War Origins of Identity], by Leerom Medovoi; published June 2, 2005, by Duke University Press (via Google Books)</ref> and as "legendary".<ref name=Newhouse>[https://books.google.com/books?id=PUX_aV94F5YC&dq=%22Hal+Ellson%22&pg=PA175 The Beat Generation and the Popular Novel in the United States, 1945-1970], by Thomas Newhouse; published June 16, 2000, by McFarland & Company (via Google Books)</ref>

Ellson was a social worker,<ref name=Hutner>[https://books.google.com/books?id=cdQh3MtxVgMC&dq=%22Hal+Ellson%22&pg=PA247 What America Read: Taste, Class, and the Novel, 1920-1960], by Gordon Hutner; published November 1, 2009, by University of North Carolina Press (via Google Books)</ref> recreational therapist, and nurse's aide at Bellevue Hospital,<ref name=Times/> where he encountered the adolescent psychiatric patients on whom he based much of his fiction; he subsequently stated that many of the patients viewed him as a "father confessor", and eagerly told him their stories while trusting that he would not report them to law enforcement.<ref name=PulpEncylopedia>[https://books.google.com/books?id=k54nLojgIrwC&dq=%22Hal+Ellson%22&pg=PA88 Encyclopedia of Pulp Fiction Writers], by Lee Server; published January 1, 2009, by Infobase Publishing (via Google Books)</ref> As a result, Nelson Algren described Ellson's work as "just straight case studies."<ref name=Algren>[http://www.theparisreview.org/interviews/4987/the-art-of-fiction-no-11-nelson-algren Nelson Algren, The Art of Fiction No. 11], by Alston Anderson and Terry Southern; in ''the Paris Review''; originally published Winter 1955; retrieved July 2, 2014</ref>

Frederic Wertham was an aficionado of Ellson's work, favorably reviewing Ellson's 1949 novel "Duke" in the ''American Journal of Psychotherapy'', and providing an introduction to Ellson's 1950 novel ''Tomboy'';<ref name=Wertham>[http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/steve_duin/index.ssf/2010/01/frederick_wertham_and_tomboy.html Fredric Wertham and 'Tomboy'], by Steve Duin, at ''the Oregonian''; published January 6, 2010; retrieved July 2, 2014</ref> as well, Wertham subsequently cited ''Tomboy'' in the first chapter of his own 1954 ''Seduction of the Innocent''.<ref>[https://www.scribd.com/doc/30827576/Seduction-of-the-Innocent-1954-2nd-Printing Seduction of the Innocent], by Fredric Wertham; published 1954; archived at Scribd; retrieved July 2, 2014</ref>

''Mike Shayne Mystery Magazine'' published reprints of Ellson's short stories such as ''Walk Away Fast'' copyright 1956 by Renown Publications, Inc. in its October 1970 issue as well as publishing several of Ellson's original short stories from 1963 to 1981. Ellson's short fiction appeared in ''Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine'' from 1963 to 1983.

Harlan Ellison cited Ellson's work as having inspired his own interest in juvenile delinquency — an interest which led directly to the writing of Ellison's first novel, ''Web of the City''.<ref name=FAQ>[http://harlanellison.com/text/newsfaq.txt alt.fan.harlan-ellison FAQ, Version: 1.5], compiled by James Shearhart and Rick Wyatt, with direct consultation of Harlan Ellison; at HarlanEllison.com; last modified November 26, 1995; retrieved July 2, 2014</ref><ref name=Forever>[https://books.google.com/books?id=XvaIuzLV41gC&dq=%22Hal+Ellson%22&pg=PA13 Harlan Ellison: The Edge of Forever], by Ellen Weil and Gary K. Wolfe, published 2002 by Ohio State University Press (via Google Books)</ref> Ellison also stated that in the earliest days of his career as a writer, he was often mistaken for Ellson writing under a pseudonym — and that decades later, when Ellison had become much more known and Ellson's career had waned, ''Ellson'' was often mistaken for ''Ellison'' writing under a pseudonym.<ref name=FAQ/>

==Bibliography== * ''Duke'' (1949) * ''Tomboy'' (1950) – adapted by Marcel Carné as ''Wasteland'' * ''The Golden Spike'' (1952) * ''Rock'' (1953) * ''I'll Fix You'' (1956) * ''Tell Them Nothing'' (1956) * ''This Is It'' (1956) * ''Jailbait Street'' (1959) * ''A Killer's Kiss'' (1959) * ''Stairway to Nowhere'' (1959) * ''The Knife'' (1961) * ''Nest of Fear'' (1961) * ''Nightmare Street'' (1965) * ''Games'' (1967) * ''That Glover Woman'' (1967) * ''Blood on the Ivy'' (1971) * "hundreds of short stories"<ref name=Times/>

“Reefer Boy”

==References== {{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ellson, Hal}} Category:Pulp fiction writers Category:1910 births Category:1994 deaths Category:20th-century American writers Category:20th-century American male writers